Testimonial

“WeComply has provided amazing customer service to our organization since 2004. WeComply is very consultative with regards to deployment of compliance training to our 15,000 worldwide employees making the process scalable and efficient. We are extremely pleased to expand our relationship even further with a subscription license for the entire enterprise.”

Senior Managing Director, Global Human Resources
Cushman & Wakefield

Preventing Discrimination and Harassment

Online Discrimination Training and Harassment Training Course

Preventing Discrimination and Harassment

Dating back to the late 1800s, common law in the U.S. defined the employment relationship as "at will," meaning that employers were free to hire and fire at will. Employers could, for example, refuse to hire minorities, segregate the workforce, assign unpleasant work to women, and deny such groups opportunities for advancement. That's all changed. Federal laws now prohibit discrimination and harassment in the workplace on the basis of age, sex, race, religion, national origin, disability, pregnancy and genetic information, and some state and local laws protect even more characteristics.

Training employees to prevent workplace discrimination and harassment is nothing less than essential. Not only can workplace discrimination and harassment affect employee productivity, it can divert resources from the organization's real business. Improper conduct can also lead to liability for the organization and/or individual employees for workplace discrimination and harassment. The U.S. Supreme Court has established legal standards that employers must meet to avoid — or at least minimize — incidents of discrimination and harassment and avoid liability for punitive damages. Employee training on workplace discrimination and harassment prevention is a key part of the defense.

Online Discrimination and Harassment Training Course Summary

There are separate training courses for managerial (60 minutes) and non-managerial (30 minutes) employees, each of which is available in multiple versions — audio/video, audio-only or text-only. There is also (1) a two-hour audio/video training course for California and Connecticut supervisors, (2) a 60-minute course for Maine supervisors and a 45-minute course for Maine employees, and (3) a 60-minute course for Canadian supervisors and a 30-minute course for Canadian employees. All versions of the discrimination and harassment training course include pop quizzes, news clippings and a final quiz highlighting real-world compliance issues that employees should learn to recognize and deal with appropriately.

The "employee" compliance training course — including the version for Maine employees — covers the following topics:

The importance of diversity

Respect and disrespect in the workplace

Anti-discrimination laws

Sexual harassment defined

Types of sexual harassment

Consensual relationships

Conduct to be avoided

Internet and e-mail harassment

Other forms of harassment

Unwelcome physical behaviors

Unwelcome verbal behaviors

Offensive displays in the workplace

Retaliation

Reporting discrimination and harassment

What you should do

The "manager" compliance training course — including the version for Maine supervisors — covers the topics listed above and these additional topics:

Your role as a supervisory employee

Standards of liability

The benefits of compliance

The costs of noncompliance

EEOC charges

Private lawsuits

Walking the fine line

Domestic violence

Responding to complaints

If the complaint is about you

Think before you act

Why retaliation matters

Documenting employee actions

Supervisory responsibilities

What you must do

The California and Connecticut training courses cover all of the topics listed above and the following additional topics: